It gives me great pleasure to officially announce that the Helen Keller
National Center is the recipient of a $6 million grant from the Leona M. and
Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust! Since its establishment in 2008, the
Trust has committed millions of dollars to a wide range of charitable
organizations supporting such fields as health, medical research, social
services, education, and more. HKNC’s relationship with the Helmsley family
dates back to the mid-1990s when Mrs. Helmsley became acquainted with the
work we do at the Center. In 2001, she generously donated the funds to build
a two-story addition to the Training Building which houses our
state-of-the-art Conference Center, aptly named after the Helmsleys, as well
as a board room, staff lounge, and offices.

The funds from this new grant have been earmarked for the
expansion of the Information, Research, and Professional Development
Department in three specific areas. The department will conduct research to
determine the needs of Americans who are deaf-blind. In collaboration with
universities, research projects, and personnel preparation programs around
the country, they will identify the most effective practices for working
with youths and adults who are deaf-blind. And, finally, through
professional training initiatives, they will disseminate the best practices
nationally through a new website, webinars, informational videos, and
professional seminars. Through these efforts, the Center hopes to increase
the number of professionals qualified to provide services to people who are
deaf-blind in their local communities as stated in HKNC’s mission.

On behalf of HKNC, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to the
Helmsley Charitable Trust for giving us this opportunity to fulfill our
mission of enabling people who are deaf-blind to live and work in the
community of their choice.
- Joe McNulty

Originally proclaimed by Congressional resolutions and Presidential
signature on April 3, 1985, Helen Keller Deaf-Blind Awareness Week has
always encouraged recognition of the achievements and capabilities of people
who are deaf-blind. Over the years, it has educated the public about the
accomplishments of individuals who are deaf-blind in areas such as
employment, independent living, travel, and technology. Through this effort,
employers have learned the tremendous contribution of deaf-blind workers in
the business world.

The 2012 Helen Keller Deaf-Blind Awareness Week (June 24 - June 30) will focus on the services
offered by the Helen Keller National Center – both on the campus in Sands
Point, New York, and in the field throughout the country.

For more than 45 years, HKNC has been the only agency which has consistently
provided vocational and independent living skills training nationally for
people who have combined vision and hearing loss. The Center works in
partnership with people who are deaf-blind, their families, and service
providers to offer training, advocacy, information, and referral. As a
result, there are greater opportunities for employment, independent living,
and civic and social engagement for people who are experiencing vision and
hearing loss. Challenges are conquered and possibilities unfold!

If you would like information to publicize this event in your
community or state including a poster, press release, suggested activities,
and a sample proclamation, please go to
www.hknc.org or contact
development@hknc.org

We’d like to know about any events that are planned around Helen Keller
Deaf-Blind Awareness Week. Please e-mail
hkncinfo@hknc.org

HKNC continues to be a destination for visitors from around the world.
During the past couple of months, we have hosted a diverse group of
professionals as well as private citizens who wish to learn about
our services.

We were honored to welcome the spouses of the permanent members
of the Security Council of the United Nations. The wife of the UN
Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, was accompanied by the wives of the
ambassadors from Azerbaijan, Guatemala, India, Morocco, and South Africa.
They learned about the latest assistive technology, met students who were
working together on an art project, toured the Independent Living
Department, and heard the life stories of members of HKNC’s Student
Leadership
Group.

The Perkins International Educational Leadership Program has been a regular
visitor to the Center since the 1980s. This year’s attendees came from
Bangladesh, China, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Serbia, and South
Africa. They enjoyed hearing from staff about HKNC’s programs and got to see
the most recent advancements in our Technology Department.

The Nordic countries were represented by 12 staff members from the Center
for the Deaf in Denmark. They have several deaf-blind consumers in their
Center and were particularly interested in hearing about our residential and
vocational programs. Another visitor was a deaf-blind gentleman from Holland
who was interested in meeting Americans who are deaf-blind and seeing what
training is available in the United States.

In April, the Board of Directors of DeafBlind International (DbI)
held a meeting at HKNC
bringing
30 members representing 14 different countries together in our Conference
Center. They
toured the Training Building and had an opportunity to hear from Anindya
“Bapin” Bhattacharyya, HKNC’s technology, development & training specialist,
about an exciting project the Center is working on with the National Public
Radio and Towson University – Captioned and Braille Radio. The presentation
was followed by a rousing exchange of ideas between the Board and HKNC
staff.

One of the DbI board members, Diana Isabel Bonilla Sinibaldi from Guatemala,
extended her stay at HKNC. Diana is the chairperson of the DbI Employment
Interest Group and is associated with Fundal, the only school for children
who are deaf-blind in Guatemala. She is interested in starting a program to
provide services for adults who are deaf-blind in her country and was able
to meet with headquarters staff, visit work sites, and learn all about
setting up adult services. An interesting aside - among the spouses
of the United Nations ambassadors who visited HKNC earlier in the year was
Margit Rosenthal, the wife
of the
permanent representative of Guatemala. We were able to put Diana in touch
with Margit and provided a venue for them to meet in person during Diana’s
visit. Another important contact was made with Clara Berg, family specialist
at the New York Deaf-Blind Collaborative, who knows many resources in Central
and South America. Hopefully, with all the networking that was done, Diana’s
dream of additional services for Fundal will become a reality.

The Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications
Commission has chosen Perkins School for the Blind, partnering with HKNC, to
conduct national outreach efforts to promote the National Deaf-Blind
Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP). Included in this pilot program are
FableVision, Inc., and other national and local consumer groups, parent
groups, agencies, and associations. The NDBEDP is mandated by Section 105 of
the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act that
“provides funding of up to $10 million annually for the local distribution
of communications equipment to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind.”

During this initial phase of the NDBEDP, $500,000 has been
allocated for the branding and marketing of the national outreach effort to
“reach and inform the greatest number of consumers, service providers, and
others” to explain the state-level certified program, contact information,
available equipment, and ways to apply for equipment and related services
provided by the program. Perkins, along with HKNC and others will work
together in reaching out by creating videos and a fully accessible website.
There will be consultation with programs, advocacy groups, professional
associations, and others as well as a toll-free number established to
provide consumers with basic information about the NDBEDP. The program will
be promoted at key conventions and conferences and an electronic tool kit
containing sample press releases and templates for announcements, digital
postcards, and newsletters will be created.

The remaining $9.5 million will be divided among the U.S. and its
territories. Stay tuned to future issues of CONNECT! for updates on
the progress of NDBEDP.

All around the country, people who have combined vision and hearing loss are
giving back to their communities.

At
the Helen Keller National Center, students have an opportunity to join a
group called Reach Out to the Community or HKNC-ROC. Its mission is to raise
money to help other organizations in need. The students bake their favorite
goodies and then hold bake sales. The proceeds from the most recent bake
sales went toward purchasing non-perishable food items which were then
donated to a local community’s annual winter food drive. The beneficiary of
the next donation will be the Ronald McDonald House!

A deaf-blind cyclist in California, Andy Grande who has Usher syndrome type
I, is the stoker on a tandem bicycle - the guy in the back seat! He
participates in “Cycling for Sight,” a three-day 200 mile event to raise
money for a local center for the blind. The HKNC regional representative in
his area, Cathy Kirscher, has worked with Andy securing SSPs through the
program run out of her office and referred Andy to the part-time job he now
holds teaching braille to a deaf-blind woman.

For the past few years, former HKNC student Jon Gabry has come back to HKNC
to participate in the annual “Helen’s Walk,” a major fundraising event for
the Center. Not only does he walk the 3.1 miles but, after completing the
Walk, Jon can be found at the finish line cheering on the others and, on
occasion, teaching sign language to the walkers. For the past four years,
Jon has been one of the top three fundraisers.

Another former student, Angela Orlando, along with her SSP Kara Bull, joined
many others in the Columbus area who walked to raise funds for the Ohio
Association of the Deaf-Blind. Angela is the co-founder and leader of the
Northeast Ohio Deaf-Blind Association’s new SSP Pilot Program and Kara is
the coordinator of the program. The walk-a-thon
was only one mile but it was a big goal for Angela, who not only has Usher
syndrome but a rare genetic disorder called PHARC (polyneuropathy, hearing
loss, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa, and cataracts). The funds raised by the
walk will assist in further developing the SSP Pilot Program in Ohio. In a
recent article in the Kent Patch, Angela said, "I am totally deaf, blind,
and physically impaired. Most people would never consider that I can do a
walk-a-thon. But I'm determined to succeed, even if it takes me longer than
others."

The Sight and Sound Impaired of St. Louis (SASISTL), a consumer support
group in Missouri, incorporates the philosophy of working together to give
back to their local community. Members, along with their SSPs, have
participated in the local Hearing Loss Association of America’s WALK4Hearing
and the local Foundation Fighting Blindness’ VisionWALK. They raise funds
and awareness as they walk together. In addition, during SASISTL’s monthly
meetings, members have raffles and fundraisers. The proceeds are used to
support SASISTL and their charitable efforts. Each year, they select a
different recipient organization to receive the donation. Founder and
President Mary Hale states that, “this is our way to pay it forward and show
we care about our community.”

“A little bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives out roses.”

Many people who are sighted and hearing enjoy reading their news on the go
with ease. For people with vision loss, NFB Newsline has offered a telephone
based service that provides access to 300 newspapers, 40 magazines, and
other information of interest. For those who prefer using a computer, there
are news media websites, social networking forums, and online transcripts of
broadcasts. Now, deaf-blind people can access news via NFB Newsline Mobile,
a newly released application for portable iDevices. This app provides full
access to all of the content it makes available, both with speech and
braille output. NFB Newsline service is free for U.S. citizens who have a
qualifying reading disability and/or are legally blind.

While other individual apps can provide some access to people
who are deaf-blind, they often have significant limitations. For a review of
the three most popular free news apps for iDevices, written from an
accessibility standpoint, please go to:

When speaking with a prospective student about the training program at HKNC,
regional representatives are often asked about where the student will live
while they
attend the program.

A two-story Residence Hall is one of three buildings on the HKNC
25-acre campus located in the Village of Sands Point on Long Island – about
25 miles from New York City. The nearest town, Port Washington, is about 2
miles from campus and has all the amenities. Residence staff or a local taxi
service provides transportation for shopping and community activities. The
Long Island Railroad Station in Port Washington provides a direct connection
to Manhattan.

When students arrive at the Residence, they are greeted by a staff person
and a buddy who provide an orientation to the Residence and introduce them
to the rest of the students. The buddy is a student who is currently
enrolled at the Center who helps new students “learn the ropes” by sharing
their knowledge and experiences at HKNC. Many students develop lifelong
friendships from their time at the Center.

Residence staff is available after 3 PM during the week, and all day and
night on the weekends and holidays. There are 2 lounge areas where the
students can enjoy TV, board games, and snacks. Wi-Fi and Internet access
are available throughout the Residence. Information about Residence rules
are discussed during new student orientation meetings. The library and a
computer lab have closed circuit TVs for reading and there are several video
phones as well as amplified phones available for calls to family and
friends. Fire drills are held on a regular basis. Most students are able to
have their own bedroom which has a private bathroom.

The kitchen staff prepares 3 meals a day including special diets for medical
or religious reasons. Menus are accessible electronically and are also
posted inside the cafeteria in large print and braille.

A recreation habilitation specialist works with the students to prepare
a
monthly calendar of events for leisure time during evenings and weekends.
There is an outside track and a gym in the Training Building with exercise
equipment available to those who have medical
clearance. Regular trips to New York City are planned as well as trips to
malls, restaurants, local festivals, beaches, and more. Trained volunteers
and a small number of Support Service Providers are available to assist with
these activities.

For some students, on-campus apartments are used as part of their training
experience. For other students, two off-campus apartments are used for more
comprehensive training to promote success when living independently upon
returning to their home community.

Mother Nature was especially kind for this year’s annual Helen’s Walk. The
sun shone brightly and the temperature was comfortably cool for the large
crowd of walkers enjoying the 3.1 mile hike through the residential
neighborhood adjoining the Center. The finishers were greeted with the usual
pom-pom waving, whistle blowing cheering squad after which they refreshed
themselves with bagels, fruit, juices, and more on the Training Building
Patio.

Let the Walk Begin!!
Walking the Walk!

The Sands
Point Garden Club members on the course
Volunteers manned the water stations

An HKNC student walker with
her SSP at the finish line Tired
but happy, 2 walkers and their SSP